Memorial Day 2017 at Florence American Cemetery

A traditional Memorial Day ceremony, open to the public, will take place on Monday, May 29 at the Florence American Cemetery (Falciani) in honor of the 4,402 American WWII casualties buried there. The public is welcome to join in the tribute.

U.S. Consul General Abigail Rupp will read an official presidential proclamation at 11 am.  U.S. army officers as well as the commander of the Interforce Military Presidio of the Florence metropolitan area will open the commemoration of the war dead, the President of the Tuscan region Enrico Rossi in addition to the mayors of Florence, San Casciano, Impruneta and Greve in Chianti will place wreaths of laurel on the graves.

The Italian national police force (arma dei carabinieri) as well as American and Italian military, local religious authorities, American combatants and relatives in addition to Italian partisans and guerrilla fighters who participated in the liberation of Italy, are also invited guests at the Memorial Day ceremony.

The Florence American cemetery is the final resting place for those who lost their lives in Italy north of Rome. Two hills, divided by a gravel walkway leading up to a large memorial—that brings to mind the Washington Monument—stands as a beacon above the fallen troops.  Behind it are the tablets of the missing, where 1,409 names have been etched into stone forever marking their presence.  Nearby, over acres and acres of freshly cut grass, white crosses and Judaic stars systematically mark the grave sites.